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According to the article, there’s no way to distinguish organic grain from standard grain. So if by all accounts “organic” is a marketing ploy, why should the g

According to the article, there’s no way to distinguish organic grain from standard grain. So if by all accounts “organic” is a marketing ploy, why should the government spend money on an inspection program to facilitate that? Let the farmers pay a private certifying authority.

strainer 7y ago
They do. It is not wise to infer controversial information from ambiguous journalistic language. I typed "us organic certification cost" into google, and it helpfully quoted this at the top of the page [1] : > Certification costs vary depending on the size of your production operation and on the accredited agency you choose to use. In general, organic certification costs run between $200 – $1500. Your costs will include an application fee, site inspection fee, and an annual certification fee. I humbly suggest you might have taken a moment to check if your hunch was correct rather than leaving that to others. Also its not possible for tests to confirm if produce is organic, but it possible to confirm it is not - if it contains traces of prohibited pesticides which are routine in non-organic produce then its not organic.[2] [1] https://blog.quicklabel.com/2010/10/how-to-get-a-certified-organic-product-label-in-the-usa/ https://blog.quicklabel.com/2010/10/how-to-get-a-certified-o... [2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/organic_food_health https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/organic_food_health
- mrosett 7y ago
  If you're going to be condescending, please actually engage with my point. I wasn't claiming that nobody pays for certification. I was specifically questioning why it's a government agency that they are paying. "Organic" is clearly a marketing term (as discussed in the first link you provided). It's not a safety-related term as (at least in theory) all produce that's sold should be safe to eat. I don't see the reason for a government agency to be involved there.
  - strainer 7y ago
    Here you complained that farmers were not paying for certification, because you had not checked the facts. Your gov is involved because it has authority to enforce accuracy of labeling. Organic standards are "safety-related", not in everyone's "theory" but to those who believe much stricter pesticide regulation than government standards is better for health and environment. We are all entitled to accurate labeling.

strainer 7y ago

They do. It is not wise to infer controversial information from ambiguous journalistic language. I typed "us organic certification cost" into google, and it helpfully quoted this at the top of the page [1] : > Certification costs vary depending on the size of your production operation and on the accredited agency you choose to use. In general, organic certification costs run between $200 – $1500. Your costs will include an application fee, site inspection fee, and an annual certification fee. I humbly suggest you might have taken a moment to check if your hunch was correct rather than leaving that to others. Also its not possible for tests to confirm if produce is organic, but it possible to confirm it is not - if it contains traces of prohibited pesticides which are routine in non-organic produce then its not organic.[2] [1] https://blog.quicklabel.com/2010/10/how-to-get-a-certified-organic-product-label-in-the-usa/ https://blog.quicklabel.com/2010/10/how-to-get-a-certified-o... [2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/organic_food_health https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/organic_food_health

mrosett 7y ago
If you're going to be condescending, please actually engage with my point. I wasn't claiming that nobody pays for certification. I was specifically questioning why it's a government agency that they are paying. "Organic" is clearly a marketing term (as discussed in the first link you provided). It's not a safety-related term as (at least in theory) all produce that's sold should be safe to eat. I don't see the reason for a government agency to be involved there.
- strainer 7y ago
  Here you complained that farmers were not paying for certification, because you had not checked the facts. Your gov is involved because it has authority to enforce accuracy of labeling. Organic standards are "safety-related", not in everyone's "theory" but to those who believe much stricter pesticide regulation than government standards is better for health and environment. We are all entitled to accurate labeling.